The study investigated the use of ethylene glycol to form alpha-MoO3 from molybdic acid wastewater by thermal treatment at 300 A degrees C for 1 h. The color change, pH values, and residual molybdenum concentration in the wastewater were dependent on the reaction times that were used. The results of UV-visible and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were used to explain the reaction process. During the treatment process, the morphologies of the constituents were observed using scanning electron microscopy. In this work, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy demonstrated that when the molybdenum oxide powder was treated thermally at 300 A degrees C, the material exhibited crystallinity, and the peaks were indexed to correspond with the (002) and (200) crystallographic planes, which were identified as orthorhombic molybdenum trioxide (alpha-MoO3). In addition, the FTIR and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed that alpha-MoO3 powder had been synthesized.